Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1887-01-26
Keeping Hens.

IL Ills ldll MTs DOWseT tcOh n uotiOu
to keep few hens. ! opposed the
project at once, and recalled to mind
the three or four dismal failures al
ready scored against us, but he turn
ed on me with that majestic air of
his and replied:
"Mrs. Bowser, we shall keep hens.
1t is true that former experiments
have been failures, but there are no
excuses for it. In the first place. l
did not get the right brand of hens.
In the next, you did not take care of
them as you should. The hen busi-
ness, to be made success, must be
pursued the same as any other busi-
ness"
"I'ye got all / can attend to with
out fooling with hens, Mr.. Bowser."
Certainly. No one wants any of
your help, Mrs. Bowser. Indeed, the
further you keep away from my hens
the better shall like it. The sight
of a woman in a Mother Hubbard,
with her hair twisted up in knot
and a hole showing in the heel of
each stocking, is enough to stop any
hen in the country from performing
the egg business. You just attend to
your gossip and your callers, Mrs.
Bowser, and I'll attend to my poul-
try"
Mr.. Bowser ordered up $40 worth
of lumber and carpenter, and then
took the children's playground for
the site of his hennery. The two
men were working around for four
or FIVE days, and one evening Mr..
Bowser came in and said:
"Mrs. Bowser, the henery is an ac-
complished fact. have erected q
structure which even the most fasti-
dious hen must commend for exter-
nal beauty and internal convenience.
I am going down to the grocery to-
night to see how many dozen eggs we
can dispose of per week."
Cant we eat them all ?"
"Can you eat thirty or forty dozen
eggs per week, madam"
That silenced me. The grocer said
he would take eighty dozen per week,
provided they were fresh, and Mr..
Bowser came home and made his
figures as follows:
t. .s .sse q e :. sss: G:Igsa gs, .ss wss1 r...
Clear profit, sI4 90
Aren't you figuring rather high
on the number of eggsf" I ventured
to inquire. a.
High! Ishould say not. I'm
figuring at least ten per cent to low.
Well use about four dozen per week,
and sell eighty dozen. That is less
than eight eggs day for each hen.
A hen who has our interests at heart
will surely produce that many"
"Well, if they'll do it."
"Do it! Mrs. Bowser what you
don't know about hens makes me
tired. What is a hen for but to lay
eggs? What would he her object in
doing otherwise, or in skipping a
day ?"
During the next week he was study
ing up on poultry and making pur-
chases of small lots. ! heard him
talking about white and black Leg
horns, Cochins, Shanghais and other
kinds, and l know he paid as high as
dollar piece for some of them.
At the end Of week he had twenty
hens and rooster, and he swelled
with pride and said to me-:
Mrs. Bowscr, prepare your mouth
for fresh eggs for breakfast"
"But hens don't lay in the night,
do they / asked.
"They may, or they may not. If
there is any good reason why they
shouldn't, don't know it. / am GO
ing to leave lighted lamp in the
coop to night, and if they take no.
ton to lay they will find everything
handy"
Next morning he was out of bed
at daylight to pay visit to the coop,
but we had no fresh eggs for break
fast. He said that no hen could be
expected to do her best until she had
become familiar with the coop and
on speaking terms with the family.
Day after day passed, but we got no
eggs. Mr.. Bowser's idea that hen
could be wound up and set to lay like
an alarm clock, was abandoned, and
he bought lime, red pepper, egg shells,
Indian meal and dozen other things
for food. On the ninth day he
brought in an egg. 1t was one I in
structed the cook to take out there
and place in a nest. Bowser came
running in with it, his face all aglow,
and as he held it up to view he shout
ed:
"Mrs. Bowser, here is the living
proof Of my sagacity!"
eyes, but don't wake the baby"
Baby be hanged What's a red
fo ced wo11-avod tou ,~oucJ bahx to